Staying Well: 3. Cod Liver Oil
3. Cod Liver Oil
Our next super food is cod liver oil! Yep, the fermented oil from the livers of cod (and other fish). This is an ancient remedy; it has been around for centuries. Starting as far back as the Romans, (Hippocrates) and the Greeks, (Pliny), the oil of cod, shark and fish livers kept people well. Soldiers[M1] would take it. Mothers gave it to their children. It was a “prophylactic” remedy, taken as a daily vitamin. It was an “anti-infective”, used for respiratory infections, earaches, joint pain, tuberculosis and so much more. (Clinical trials in the 1940s showed that cod liver oil reduced measles mortality by more than one-half[M2] !) Right up until the early 20th century, cod liver oil was a household word and most people took their daily dose. What happened? Taking CLO, and the idea of staying well through food went out of vogue as sulfa antibiotics and penicillin were introduced. Instead of taking cod liver oil and supplying the organs of immunity with the nutrients needed, antibiotics were used as a remedy once you were already sick. Hmmm.
Why Cod Liver Oil?
Cod liver oil is RICH in fat soluble vitamins A and D, as well as omega 3 essential fatty acids DHA and EPA, and cholesterol. They all play important roles in the body. However, we are going to focus on vitamins A and D, since they are the power twins in cod liver oil.
The earliest name for vitamin A was “anti-infective vitamin[M3] ”! In 1934, Dr. Quigley in “Notes on Vitamins and Diets, wrote “vitamin A is considered one of the main elements of protection, in a basic manner, against all infections. It undoubtedly has a very decided effect in protecting against the infections which cause ordinary colds, and which localize in the nasal cavity, the throat the nasal cavity and the respiratory tract[M4] .” So…Vitamin A is needed for the sinuses, air passages, lungs and GI tract, to keep them well--deficiency renders epithelial surfaces vulnerable to infection[M5] . Take your cod liver oil to stay well! However, with viruses we are most concerned with the “third line of defense”, rapid development of immunity. Vitamin A helps with specific and non-specific immunity, the humoral response to bacterial, parasitic and viral infections, cell-mediated immunity, mucosal immunity (think lungs!), natural killer cell activity and phagocytosis[M6] (think infection fighting capability!) I’d say vitamin A is one we really need right now. And cod liver oil supplies the greatest amount, and is supplied along with its partner, vitamin D!
Cod liver oil is also the richest in vitamin D- aka “sunlight vitamin” (which most of us don’t get enough of these days!) Vitamin D is needed for so many things in the body; deficiency means poor immune system response and susceptibility to infections.
The best way to take cod liver oil is in combination with what Dr. Weston A. Price called “high-vitamin butter oil”. When taken together, the nutritive effect of cod liver oil increases exponentially. Butter was “high-vitamin” when it was made from the cream of cows that ate spring grass. (If you haven’t read it yet, Nutrition and Physical Degeneration is a “must-read” for the principles of healthy diets. Written in 1939, they still hold true today.) High-vitamin butter oil is available from Green Pasture Products. You may also use any ghee made from pastured cows (spring ghee is best, of course.)
Whatever you do, take care to obtain high quality cod liver oil, as oils go rancid and rancid oil will cause more problems! CLO should be in a dark glass bottle-blue or brown- in order to keep out the light. Store it in your refrigerator, or in a cool, dark place. There are two types of cod liver oil available – fermented and not fermented. The vast majority of people do well on the fermented type, along with the high-vitamin butter oil. However, if you have histamine intolerance, you may fare better with a brand that is not fermented.
How much is enough to stay well? Since different brands will provide different amounts of vitamin A, the amount will differ by brand. For children, start with 1 teaspoon a day, (or 5,000 IU). For adults, 2 teaspoons, twice a day or more. This would usually be enough cod liver oil to provide 10,000- 20,000 IU vitamin A, plus ½ to 1 teaspoon of high-vitamin butter oil[M7] .
What if you get sick? Dr. Tom Cowan writes in The Fourfold Path to Healing[M8] : For acute illnesses or a crisis situation, place alternating drops of cod liver oil and high-vitamin butter oil under the tongue for several minutes. (The body burns up vitamin A with fevers…)
How best to consume? Take your cod liver oil with food so that your body can best utilize the fat soluble vitamins. Cod liver oil is available in liquid form for people who can handle the fish taste, and in gel-caps. The liquid will be the most cost effective, and easiest to dose. The capsules have been known to cause indigestion. Just take a shot of the liquid and chase with something you like to drink. If you decide on capsules, you will need to take more of them to achieve the dose that you need. There are also flavored CLO-butter oil combinations available if you prefer.
Please note: This is Cod Liver Oil, not fish oil. Fish oil is great for other things, mainly EFAs, for brain health.
Note also: Liver is the other super food—providing high amounts of vitamin A
Fermented cod liver oil with high vitamin butter oil
*affiliate link
Some resources for you:
Role of Vitamin A in the Immune System, Journal of Clinical Medicine, September 2018, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6162863/
Mother was Right about Cod Liver Oil, The Medscape Journal of Medicine, Jan 2008, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2258476/
Fish Oil versus Cod Liver Oil: Is Vitamin D a Reason to Go Back to the Future, The Journal of the American Board of Family Practice September 2005, https://www.jabfm.org/content/18/5/445.1.long
https://www.westonaprice.org/health-topics/cod-liver-oil/update-on-fermented-cod-liver-oil/ Sally Fallon Morell, July 19, 2019
Science Validates the Benefits of Our Number One Superfood, Chris Masterjohn, PhD, April 30, 2009, https://www.westonaprice.org/health-topics/cod-liver-oil/the-cod-liver-oil-debate/
htps://www.westonaprice.org/health-topics/cod-liver-oil/cod-liver-oil-setting-the-record-straight/
Books for you to consider:
Natasha Campbell-McBride, MD, Gut and Psychology Syndrome*
Tom Cowan, MD, The Fourfold Path to Healing*
Royal Lee, DDS, Conversations in Nutrition
Royal Lee, DDS, Vitamin News, Part of the Royal Lee Library Series
More interesting information:
Children supplemented with cod liver oil had a decrease in upper respiratory tract infections and pediatric visits over time (Ann Otol Rhinol Laryngol. 2004 Nov;113(11):891-901).
Children prone to ear aches (otitis media) receiving cod liver oil plus selenium needed lower amounts of antibiotics during supplementation compared to before supplementation (Ann Otol Rhinol Laryngol. 2002 Jul;111(7 Pt 1):642-52).
[M1]The History of Cod Liver Oil as a Remedy, August 1923, https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapediatrics/article-abstract/1173883
[M2] [M2]Chris Masterjohn, PhD, https://www.westonaprice.org/health-topics/cod-liver-oil/the-cod-liver-oil-debate/
[M3]Natasha Campbell-McBride, Gut and Psychology Syndrome, p. 279
[M4]Vitamin News, January 15, 1934, Vitamin A, p.21
[M5]Vitamin News, September 18, 1933, Vitamins and Resistance to Infections, p. 8
[M6]Gut and Psychology Syndrome, p. 277
[M7]Dr. Thomas A. Cowan, The Fourfold Path to Healing, p. 360, Cod Liver Oil and High-Vitamin Oil Therapy
[M8]Dr. Thomas A. Cowan, The Fourfold Path to Healing, p. 360, Cod Liver Oil and High-Vitamin Oil Therapy
